If you’re looking for a sweet Easter treat, look no further! This delicious citrus and marzipan Bakewell tart is a twist on a classic Bakewell. It is perfect for an Easter lunch – or for any other occasion actually! To make it super special, you could make your own lemon curd. The original recipe says to use a 12 x 35cm tin, but I used two small round loose-bottomed ones instead [Edit: I have used both round and rectangular tins and both work equally well!] I popped one of them in the freezer (un-iced) and it froze very well, so if you’re prepping for a party you could make this in advance.

This recipe comes from the April 2014 issue of BBC Good Food magazine. The recipe suggests using ready-made pastry – I actually made my own from scratch, but you can do whatever you prefer!

Ingredients

375g pack sweet shortcrust pastry (or use this recipe if you want to make it yourself)
Jar of lemon curd (or see this recipe to make your own!)
280g/10oz icing sugar
Juice 1 lemon

For the sponge

100g/4oz very soft butter
100g/4oz golden caster sugar
50g/2oz ground almonds
50g/2oz self-raising flour, plus a little extra for dusting
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 medium eggs, beaten
25g/1oz chopped candied peel
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1/2 orange
50g/2oz block marzipan

Method

1. Roll out the pastry onto a lightly floured surface. Line the tin and then press any overhanging pastry back over the outside of the tin (you can trim after baking). Prick the base all over with a fork and chill for 30 mins.

2. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. Bake the pastry until just cooked but not coloured, and lower the heat to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4.

3. Make the sponge mixture by beating the butter, sugar, ground almonds, flour, almond extract and eggs together with an electric whisk until well mixed (I don’t have one currently, so followed the usual creaming by hand method).

4. Tip in the candied peel and zests, then coarsely grate in the marzipan – the best way to do this is to keep dipping the end of the block in flour to stop it getting sticky, and stir into the mix every now and then to stop it all clumping back together. Give everything a good stir.

5. Spoon 3 tbsp of the lemon curd into a piping bag or small food bag and set aside for later. Spread the rest (or as much as is needed) over the base of the tart, then spoon over the sponge mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 35-40 mins until golden and firm, before allowing to cool completely in the tin.

6. If serving straight away, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in enough of the lemon juice to get a smooth and thick, but still runny icing. Spread it all over the top of the tart and then pipe the lemon curd onto the top. You could pipe horizontal lines across the length of the tin and then use the end of a cocktail stick to drag lines down the tin, creating a feathered effect.

The tart should keep well for up to 5 days in an airtight container…if it lasts that long! Enjoy!

Post updated 6th May 2017.

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I was quite surprised when I looked through my blog posts earlier and discovered that I haven’t posted this recipe before – it is one of those ‘tried and tested’ ones that I’ve been making for years! In fact, my Mum used to make it when I was younger and it was one of the few things that I could actually cook when I left home to go to uni. You can use any pasta you like for this – macaroni works really well – but I used penne today. It was either that or our Simpsons pasta that Helen bought us – but you wouldn’t have recognised the Simpsons for the courgettes so we’re saving that for another day!

Ingredients

120g pasta
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 tsp mixed herbs
Black pepper
1 tin tuna in brine (or spring water – but not in oil)
150g low fat cottage cheese
1-2 medium size courgettes
1-2 cloves of garlic
4 mushrooms
A handful of spinach
Grated cheese of your choice

Method

1. Put the pasta on to boil and preheat the oven to 200/400/Gas mark 6. Tip the tomatoes into another pan and add the herbs and some black pepper. Leave to simmer.

2. Slice the courgettes and chop the garlic. Put some olive oil in a pan and add the courgette and garlic, cooking until softened.

3. Drain the tuna and put into a bowl. Add the cottage cheese, season with black pepper and mix well.

4. When the pasta is cooked, drain and mix in the tomatoes, before adding the tuna and cottage cheese mix. Add the vegetables and stir well, before pouring into an oven proof dish.

5. Grate some cheese over the top before cooking in the oven for around 20 minutes. Serve with some salad and enjoy!

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Before I went to Madrid, I asked Tom if he wanted me to bring anything back for him – he asked for chorizo. I didn’t fancy putting one in my suitcase (which, considering what happened to the suitcase in question, was probably a good thought to have had!) so I decided to chance it and see if they had some at duty free. Thankfully they did! It was quite a large chorizo, ironically labelled as a ‘mini chorizo’, so they must make some huge ones if they class this as being mini! We decided to look for a new recipe including chorizo and found this on the BBC Good Food website.

Ingredients

100g cooking chorizo, skin removed
3 pork sausages, skins removed
¼ tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp lime juice
small bunch coriander, chopped
½ x 400g can mixed beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium egg, lightly beaten
1½ tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
2 ciabatta rolls, split and toasted
soured cream, avocado, small handful rocket and chips to serve (optional)

Method

1. In a food processor, pulse the chorizo, sausagemeat, paprika, lime juice and coriander until well combined. Add the beans and some seasoning, and quickly pulse again to mix.

2. Tip into a bowl and mix in just enough egg (about half) to bind. Shape into 2 fat burgers, cover and chill for 15 mins.

3. Meanwhile, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

4. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the burgers for 3 mins on each side. Transfer to a baking sheet and cook in the oven for a further 10 mins until cooked through.

5. Serve the burgers in rolls with soured cream, avocado and rocket, with chips and lime wedges on the side, if you like. Enjoy!

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Ingredients

2 large oranges
1 tsp butter
1 tsp plain flour
6 free-range eggs
250g/9oz ground almonds
250g/9oz caster sugar
1 tbsp baking powder

Method

1. Wash the oranges thoroughly. Bring them to the boil in a large saucepan of water and gently cook for two hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 175C/325F/Gas 3 and butter and flour a 23cm/9in cake tin.

3. Leave the oranges to cool, before slicing in quarters and removing the pips. Pulp the oranges (including the peel) in a food processor.

4. Beat the eggs and gradually stir in all the remaining ingredients, including the orange pulp. Pour into the cake tin and cook for about an hour, until the cake is golden in colour and has risen.

5. Transfer to a wire cooling rack, keeping the cake in the tin. When the cake has cooled, carefully remove from the tin and serve cut into slices. Enjoy!

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